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Last Updated on 03 Jul 2019

Author: Annelies Cazemier

CAPInv. 889: Apolloniastai

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area Aegean Islands
ii. Region Delos
iii. Site Delos

II. NAME

i. Full name (original language) Ἀπολλωνιασταὶ (I.Délos 1730, l. 7 and other sources)
ii. Full name (transliterated) Apolloniastai

III. DATE

i. Date(s) 125 - 74 BC

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

i. Name in other forms magistreis Apolloni(s) (I.Délos 1753, l. 13; cf. 1754, l. 7) -- The Greek texts refer to Apolloniastai, using a theophoric name, but the parallel Latin texts use the term magistreis, suggesting officials more specifically.
ii. Name elements
Theophoric:Apollo

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) Apolloniastai:
I.Délos 1730 (ca. 125 BC)
I.Délos 2634 (l. ii BC: SEG 45.1049)

Apolloniastai, Hermaistai, Poseidoniastai:
I.Délos 1753 (113 BC)
I.Délos 1754 (l. ii BC)
I.Délos 1755 (ca. 100 BC)
I.Délos 1757 (97 BC)
I.Délos 1758 (74 BC)

possibly connected to the Apolloniastai:
I.Délos 1756 (ca. 100 BC)
I.Délos 1759 (not dated)
I.Délos 2857 (not dated)
Note Durrbach, Choix 97 (= I.Délos 1730)
Durrbach, Choix 116 (= I.Délos 1753)
Durrbach, Choix 144 (= I.Délos 1757)
Durrbach, Choix 157 (= I.Délos 1758)
AGRW 231 (= I.Délos 1730) (incl. English translation)
AGRW 237 (= I.Délos 1758) (incl. English translation)
Trümper 2011: 79, no. 23
Online Resources I.Délos 1730
I.Délos 2634

I.Délos 1753
I.Délos 1754
I.Délos 1755
I.Délos 1757
I.Délos 1758

I.Délos 1756
I.Délos 1759
I.Délos 2857
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script Dedications, one by the Apolloniastai alone (in Greek) (I.Délos 1730), others together with the Hermaistai and Poseidoniastai (I.Délos 1753-1755; 1757-1758; cf. 1756; 1759), some of them bilingual (Greek and Latin) (I.Délos 1753; 1754); subscription list (I.Délos 2634)
i.c. Physical format(s) I.Délos 1730: cylindrical marble base
ii. Source(s) provenance The dedication of the Apolloniastai only (I.Délos 1730) was found in the 'Agora des Compétaliastes' (Guide de Délos 2), near the southern end of the 'Portique de Philippe' (Guide de Délos 3). The joint dedications to Herakles and the Italians (I.Délos 1757) and to Apollo and the Italians (I.Délos 1758) were set up at the 'Agora des Italiens' (Guide de Délos 52). The same applies to a fragmentary Latin text referring to magistreis (I.Délos 1756). The joint dedication to Herakles / Hercoles (I.Délos 1753) was found in the area of the 'Agora de Théophrastos' (Guide de Délos 49) near the south-west corner of the so-called 'Salle Hypostyle' (Guide de Délos 50), site of a sanctuary of Poseidon (cf. Bruneau 1970: 259; Hasenohr 2002: 73). The joint dedication to Zeus Ourios / Iuppiter Sequndanus (I.Délos 1754) was found re-used in a modern wall, also near the 'Salle Hypostyle'.

VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE

ii. References to buildings/objects Ἡρακλῆς, Herakles (I.Délos 1757, l. 3)

VII. ORGANIZATION

iv. Officials magistreis Apolloni(s) (I.Délos 1753, l. 13; 1754, l. 7, where the Apolloniastai, Hermaistai, and Poseidoniastai are collectively called magistreis, without addition of the name(s) of deities; cf. I.Délos 1756, l. 14; and note I.Délos 1752, l. 7) -- The term magistreis (magistri) to indicate officials is used in Latin only; the parallel Greek texts simply refer to Apolloniastai. Some of the texts refer to the listed individuals as Ἀπολλωνιασταὶ γενόμενοι, Apolloniastai genomenoi (l. 7; cf. I.Délos 1757, l. 1; 1758, ll. 9-10) and according to Hasenohr (2002: 72) this means that these dedications were made after the men had left office.

VIII. PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS

i. Treasury/Funds The Apolloniastai with the Hermaistai and Poseidoniastai (together called magistreis in Latin) made a dedication to Zeus Ourios / Iuppiter Sequndanus from their own funds (I.Délos 1754, l. 21: ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων, ek ton idion; cf. l. 7: de sua pequnia).

IX. MEMBERSHIP

i. Number The dedication made by Apolloniastai only (I.Délos 1730) lists the names of six individuals, but these appear to have been officials and there would have been more members all in all.
ii. Gender Men
Note The Apolloniastai listed in the sources are men.
iv. Status The Apolloniastai listed in the sources have Roman names and were members of the Italian community on Delos. While the Kompetaliastai (CAPInv. 892) consisted of freedmen and slaves, the Apolloniastai, Hermaistai, and Poseidoniastai were free men (whether from birth or freedmen). Freedmen can be recognized only in the Latin versions of the texts. There are, for example, six freedmen out of a total of twelve individuals in the joint dedication to Herakles / Hercoles (I.Délos 1753, ll. 7-12) and again six out of a total of twelve in the joint dedication to Zeus Ourios / Iuppiter Sequndanus (I.Délos 1753, ll. 4-6). The texts do not specify which individuals were Apolloniastai, Hermaistai, or Poseidoniastai.

X. ACTIVITIES

iii. Worship The Apolloniastai made a dedication to Apollo (I.Délos 1730). Together with the Hermaistai and Poseidoniastai they made dedications to Apollo and the Italians (I.Délos 1758), Herakles / Hercoles (I.Délos 1753), Herakles and the Italians (I.Délos 1757), and Zeus Ourios / Iuppiter Sequndanus (I.Délos 1754).
Deities worshipped Apollo
Herakles / Hercoles
Zeus Ourios / Iuppiter Sequndanus

XI. INTERACTION

i. Local interaction The Apolloniastai made dedications together with the Hermaistai (CAPInv. 890) and Poseidoniastai (CAPInv. 891) (I.Délos 1753-1754; 1757-1758; cf. 1755). One of these dedications was made to Herakles and the Italians (I.Délos 1757) and another to Apollo and the Italians (I.Délos 1758). The Apolloniastai, Hermaistai, and Poseidoniastai were closely connected to the Italian community on Delos, but the exact nature of this connection is debated. Recently, Hasenohr has argued (contra Hatzfeld 1912: 146-83; 1919: 257-73; Flambard 1982) that the Apolloniastai, Hermaistai, and Poseidoniastai did not constitute separate private associations (chaired by magistri), but that these three boards of officials were in fact dependent on the Italian community, whose representatives they were. Hasenohr 2002 (with references to previous scholarship). There is, however, no direct evidence for a formal connection. See 'Evaluation'.

The Apolloniastai also appear in a subscription list (I.Délos 2634, l. 9), but due to the fragmentary nature of the inscription it is not clear what exactly they contributed towards. Rauh (1992: 331) suggested that the text, mentioning weapons and physicians, might allude to a fund-raising effort for (gladiatorial) games, but the contributions are more commonly understood in a military context, concerning a defense of the island against an enemy attack (cf. Roussel and Launey in I.Délos 2634; Migeotte 1992: 143-4, no. 47; Baslez 1994: 31, n. 26; cf. SEG 45.1049).

XII. NOTES

i. Comments While the Greek texts refer to Apolloniastai, using a theophoric name in line with other associations in the Greek-speaking world, the Latin texts use the term magistreis, suggesting officials of a larger group. Hasenohr (2002) argues that the Apolloniastai, Hermaistai, and Poseidoniastai did not constitute separate associations, but were representatives of the Italian community as a whole. See 'Local interaction' and 'Evaluation'.
ii. Poland concordance Poland B 164l (= I.Délos 1755)
Poland B 165a (= I.Délos 1758)
Poland B 165b (= I.Délos 1757)

Poland B 164o (= I.Délos 1756α)
Poland B 164q (= I.Délos 1759)
iii. Bibliography Baslez, M.-F. (1994), 'La politique et les affaires: à propos de deux familles orientales de Délos, à l’époque romaine', Ktema 19: 27-37.
Bruneau, P. (1970), Recherches sur les cultes de Délos à l'époque hellénistique et à l'époque impériale. Paris.
Flambard, J.-M. (1982), ‘Observations sur la nature des magistri italiens de Délos’, in F. Coarelli, D. Musti, and H. Solin (eds.) Delo e l’Italia, Rome: 67-77.
Hasenohr, C. (2002), ‘Les collèges de magistri et la communauté italienne de Délos’, in C. Müller and C. Hasenohr (eds.), Les Italiens dans le monde grec, IIe siècle av. J.-C. - Ier siècle ap. J.-C.: circulation, activités, intégration, Paris, 67-76.
Hatzfeld, J. (1912), 'Les Italiens résidant à Délos mentionnés dans les inscriptions de l'île', BCH 36: 5-218.
Hatzfeld, J. (1919), Les trafiquants italiens dans l'orient hellénique. Paris.
Migeotte, L. (1992), Les souscriptions publiques dans les cités grecques. Genève.
Rauh, N.K. (1992), 'Was the Agora of the Italians an Établissement du Sport?', BCH 116: 293-333.
Trümper, M. (2011), ‘Where the non-Delians met in Delos: the meeting-places of foreign associations and ethnic communities in late Hellenistic Delos’, in O.M. van Nijf and R. Alston (eds.) Political culture in the Greek city after the classical age, Leuven: 49-100.

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Probable
Note While Hasenohr (2002) and other scholars have expressed doubts about the interpretation of the Apolloniastai as a separate private association, it is clear that they were organized and that they existed for an extended period of time (more than 50 years). In the earliest available source (I.Délos 1730: ca. 125 BC), the Apolloniastai appear on their own, while in later sources they are mentioned together with the Hermaistai and Poseidoniastai. It is possible that the nature of these groups and their position in relation to each other as well as to the local Italian community developed and changed over time, depending also on the number of Italians resident on Delos. For lack of direct evidence that the Apolloniastai or magistreis Apolloni(s) officially depended on a 'public' body, we cannot exclude the possibility that they formed a 'private' association of some sort.